Bulletin Messenger FAQ

Content

Sending Messages

How Many Messages can be sent per minute?

• The speed of message delivery will be determined by
  1. Network connection speed between your PC and Bulletin Messenger
  2. Method of connecting to Bulletin Messenger (email or via the web page)
  3. The destination carrier. Some carriers throttle message delivery based on their network requirements.

Can the recipient see a name instead of a number when they receive a message?

• No, however this can be done (on some networks) via Bulletin Connect using rate codes if required.
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Can I see when a recipient received a message on their handset?

• Yes. Although a few networks do not provide the message status information most do and they will be shown with the message in the Bulletin Messenger Message Log.
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Are messages delivered immediately?

• Bulletin attempts to send all messages to the carriers within seconds of receiving them, but SMS is a best effort, store and forward process which means that the carriers may have their own queuing, delivery and expiry policies.
  Once Bulletin has passed the message to the carriers delivery is beyond our control, however we will request status updates and use these to keep you informed of the status of the message if these are available.

You can use the status information to decide whether you should resend the message or use an alternative communication method.

When sending SMS by email can I tell if the person received it?

• Yes. When sending an email set the option for a "read receipt" (each email system has a different way of doing this so see the relevant vendor for more information). When a message is processed with a read receipt request, Bulletin Messenger waits for a few minutes and sends an email back that has the status information for each recipient.
  If you have login credentials you can also view this information in the online message logs.
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Can I see when a recipient reads a SMS message I sent them?

• No. Standard SMS does not provide this sort of information, the closest you can get is if the carrier notifies us when the message is received on the handset.
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What networks does Bulletin Messenger work with?

• Bulletin Messenger has worldwide SMS messaging capability with an emphasis around our development base in New Zealand and Australia. With Bulletin Messenger you can be sitting in Atlanta and send an SMS to a cell phone in India, or Bermuda or Cameroon.
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How is sending text messages from Bulletin Messenger different from usual text messaging?

• You have the convenience of messaging from a web site and being able to send a group message from your phone in a very cost-effective manner.
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How do I send a message to a mobile?

• When you log in to Bulletin Messenger you'll be presented with the main screen for sending messages. Here you simply type your message into the text box, select the contacts or Recipients you'd like to send the message to and click 'SEND'.
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How do I send a SMS by email?

Sending SMS by email requires your email address to be setup in Bulletin Messenger. Contact your company administrator to do this and they will either

1. add your email address to the appropriate if they have the email domain configured, or
2. request that the email address be authorised by the service provider.

When your address is configured you will receive an email with instructions. However, it is as simple as sending an email to a specially formated email address made up of

1. the mobile number (in international format), and
2. @bulletinmessenger.com

For example sending to mobile number 614912345678 you would address the email to 614912345678@bulletinmessenger.net. It is that simple.
Try sending a message to your personal phone and you should receive it within a few minutes. If you do not receive and do not receive an error back by email please contact your company administrator to confirm your address is setup.

Can we set up Bulletin Messenger so each login can only see certain numbers/groups?

The company admin user can close the address books so users can not send to any contacts that are not in the address book that the CA sets up.

How do I create a message that will be sent at a later time?

• Create the message as normal, by adding the recipients and entering the message text. Instead of clicking Send, click Send Later.
  This takes you into the Schedule Message screen where you can select from a calendar what day to send the message and then use the pull down menus to select the time you want the message sent.
  Then you click Save and you will be taken to the Confirm Schedule screen where you check the message content and confirm the time you'd like the message sent. If you are happy with the message content and the timing of the message delivery click 'OK' and you'll be taken back to the Send Message screen.
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How can Bulletin Messenger be automated to send the same message to different recipients on a regularly basis?

• Example: I'm looking to do is send monthly messages to our customers once their account reaches a prescribed limit. What sort of information we would need to provide in order to organise this? Would you simply require a file with the account numbers / mobile contact number, etc ?
  Bulletin Messenger can be used to send out the same message to thousands of recipients at once. This can be done in a variety of ways to a varying level of automation depending on your needs, environment and technical level.

  Warning Bulletin Messenger must not be used for unsolicited SPAM or marketing messages. Users that do so may have the service restricted or cut off.

  If you are using an email method to send Bulletin Messenger ensure that the address you are sending from is configured in the Bulletin Messenger system before you send the messages.

  1. manually import contact file into Bulletin Messenger as an address list
     When you import an address list the contacts are available to be used in the Bulletin Messenger web site or via email.
  2. email 'mail merge'
     Bulletin Messenger can use email to SMS so you may be able to do a mail merge using your email client such as Outlook. Each email system differs in how they do mail merges so see your email user guide for more information.
  3. TXTmail for windows
     If the number file is automatically generated and stored in the same location each time, then maybe TXTmail can be used.
     See the TXTmail user guide about this feature that can use a file of numbers to send a message to. Download the latest TXTmail for Windows.
  4. Automated address book updates
     Another option is to automate an address book update so one of your Bulletin Messenger address books always contains a current list of these numbers assigned to one group.
     See the user guide for information on automating address book updates.
     This option would require a plain text file with name, number and group/s (eg "MonthlyWarning"), one contact per line in the file.
     If this is automated the most current group of contacts would be in that address book and you could send a message to MonthlyWarning@bulletinmessenger.net which would SMS all the current members of that group.
  5. Scripting and batch files
     Since Bulletin Messenger can use email to send SMS messages, a simple windows batch file, linux shell script or even an MS Office macro could be quickly written to process your file of recipients and send the same message, or even a customised message, to each person . How this is done depends the language you use, the complexity of the message and your network environment.
     Some (free) command line tools* that you may find useful for sending automated email are
     • BLAT
     • SendEmail
     • bmail

* these links are provided for information only and without guarantee or any explicit or implied association. If you need assistance with any of these tools please contact the relevant vendor.

Receiving Messages

Where do replies go?

• All replies to messages sent from the Bulletin Messenger will show in RECEIVED MESSAGES log on the web site. Click the MESSAGES tab to see these messages. Replies are attached to the original message in a 'thread' so you can keep track of your conversations using the patented mTag technology.

Address Books

How do I store contact numbers?

• Select Address Book from the Main Menu and then click 'Create Individual'. You then type in their contact details, and the new contact is added to your Address Book.
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How do I create groups?

• Select Create Group from the Address Book Menu. All members in your Address Book are displayed on the page. You then assign a Name and an Alias to the group. Members can then be added to the group simply by selecting them and clicking the 'ADD' button.
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Why can't I add a new group?

• In some instances the Company Administrator may deny access to add contacts to the Address Books. Contact your Company Administrator if this is the case.
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How do I import an address book?

• Click on the Manage Address Books menu option . This option works best if you have existing contact lists stored in the form of a CSV (Comma Separated Values) file such as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Set your spreadsheet up with header rows of Number, Name, Alias, Group, Group Alias, and further rows containing the contacts you wish to import and Bulletin Messenger will attempt to import the data. See Manage Address Books for more information.
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Why am I getting warnings and/or errors when I try to import into an address book?

• It is important that the records you want to import conform to Bulletin Messenger requirements. These are some common causes for imports not completing correctly.
  • Bulletin Messenger can not import contacts or groups that already exist in your address books. If they already existing your address book, try copying them in the Manage Address Book screen.
  • Contact or Group names can not contain spaces or many other special characters. Remove the spaces from names or replace them with the underscore "_" character.
  • Aliases can not be longer than four characters.

Contact Bulletin Wireless support if you have problems with the data you are trying to import.

Message History and Reports

How do I view messages that I have sent and received?

• Click on the Message menu option to display a log of messages. You can also choose to filter by Sent, Received or Scheduled messages with details on their current status. Bulletin Messenger functionality allows you to Forward (F), Reply (R) or delete any messages from the message log or message detail pages.
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How do I change the Recent Messages display?

• Click on Display in Options and you can select the number of Recent Messages to display by setting values from 2 - 20 messages. Click SAVE to keep your changes.
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Can I change the Sent/Received messages display?

• Simply select in the same way as the Recent Messages display and click SAVE.
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Account Options and Billing

How do I change my options?

• Click on the Options tab in the top menu bar. This will take you to the Settings page where you can set your screen refresh rate, time zone and mobile shortcuts. The Screen Refresh Rate determines how often your browser checks for new messages. The Time zone option is used to determine where you are sending messages from and when scheduled messages are sent. Mobile shortcuts allow you to enter your common mobile phone prefixes and configure them to international format. Mobile shortcuts are used when sending messages, they allow you to enter local phone numbers in a format you are comfortable with, and Bulletin Messenger will change it to the international format it requires.
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Where do I set my Signature?

• In the Options menu under "Signature" and you can type in a signature that can be added to messages before you send them or automatically attached to all new messages sent via the web site (not email). Remember it is best with limited character numbers to keep your signature short.
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How will I be billed for Bulletin Messenger?

• All billing is handled through Bulletin Online Services (BOS). BOS provides an easy interface to purchase credits and extend your subscription using your paypal
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More Information

What do people use this service for?

• The range of ways people use it is quite varied. Some people use it in ways we never intended and have managed to integrate it into their system very nicely.
  See the examples page for some ideas.
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What is international number format?

All numbers used in Bulletin services must be in International Format.

International Format is a number format that includes the country, carrier and phone numbers without any dialing prefixes (eg 00 or 001) or special characters such as the plus symbol (eg '642111111' not '+642111111').
The Following table shows how some numbers are displayed in international format.

For your convienience this is a sample of Countries and their Country Codes.

Who do I contact for more information or help?

• If your question is not answered in this User Guide then contact the appropriate person (see below).
  If you setup the account yourself (e.g. if you are the Company Administrator or an Individual Account holder) then contact Bulletin Wireless including the following information.
  • Account name used in Bulletin Messenger
  • Contact Phone Number (please include Country and time zone so we are able to call you if necessary)
  • Specific details. Clearly state your intention or issue and provide all relevant details. It is better to provide more information than too little and in the process of gathering the information your solution may actually appear without further assistance being required. State what you are trying to do and what you have tried.
    If you are a Company User then you should contact your Company Administrator in the first instance. If they are not able to assist you then they will contact Bulletin Wireless.
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